On the positive side the increase in gas venting, rock and ash ejection and even lava activity closing visitor centers, access roads and hiking trails also creates a dramatic backdrop for nearby attractions that remain open. There are also a few volcanoes where access remains unaffected (see below).

Volcano Closures in Costa Rica

Tenorio Volcano & Rio Celeste RE-OPENED January 2018 – Tenorio National park and most notably the trail to the Celeste Waterfall were closed briefly on January 12, 2018 after a “swarm” of seismic events (several small localized earthquakes within a few hours).

During the shakeup the famous waterfall turned a muddy brown and there was online hysteria predicting the attraction was forever altered but it seemed more likely to us that it was just mud from small quake triggered upstream landslides.

The park re-opened two days later and the river and Celeste waterfall regained their eponymous coloration.

Chato – OFF LIMITS 2017 – Cerro Chato has been inactive for thousands of years. The clear cold lake in the bottom of the crater and the spectacular views of Arenal a mere mile north from the rim made this the most popular volcano hike in Costa Rica. Unfortunately the trail was declared off limits in February of 2017 because guides were using it to stage climbs up the back side of Arenal.

We’ve been told that there is insufficient manpower to enforce the Lago Chato closure. Only the official guided hikes are being cancelled and many people are ignoring the ban and hiking anyway.

Miravalles – RE-OPENED May 2017 – the trails from the outskirts of Bijagua to the waterfalls in Miravalles National Park were wiped out by Hurricane Otto in November 2016 but have been re-built and are open as of May 2017 – Yipee!

Poás -CLOSED 2017 – Once the most visited volcano in Costa Rica the trails, overlook and visitors center with its volcano museum were closed indefinitely in April 2017 due to increased activity.

NOTES: Our best guess is that the park will not open before 2019.

UPDATE February 21, 2018 There is a completely unsubstantiated rumor circulating that the park will reopen at the end of April. There has been no official announcement and the only statement we can obtain is “Poas is closed indefinitely.” We’ll keep you posted.

UPDATE January 26, 2018 The National Seismology Network has determined that the current mechanism of degasification makes it unlikely that there will be premonitory earthquakes which previously gave warning of impending eruptions.

According to Lidier Esquivel at the National Emergency Commission the lack of seismological indicators means the park could not be evacuated in time and is the reason the park remains closed. Turrialba volcano national park was closed for similar reasons six years ago and has not reopened.

December 26, 2017 – The local community petition to reopen Poás was rejected and the park remains closed until further notice.

October 23, 2017 the local communities petitioned to reopen the park because the volcano has been relatively quiet for several months. A decision is pending but I would be surprised if the petition is granted before 2018

July 4, 2017 – Recent evidence of lava ejections from the “Boca Roja” (Red Mouth) crater at Poás volcano mean the temporary closure of the national park, museum and visitor’s center will continue indefinitely. When Arenal started spewing lava access was prohibited for 50 years.

June 6 2017 – Another ash and steam eruption ensured that the park will remain closed so the best view you can get is from the OVSICORI live crater camera.

Turrialba – CLOSED 2015 – the most extensive and beautiful network of volcano trails in Costa Rica shut down in 2015 due to dangerous levels of activity in two of the craters. The road to the rim is also closed to the public.

UPDATE: July 2017 – The National Seismological Network used a drone to confirm what residents have been reporting – a lake of lava more than 150 feet across has formed in the west crater of Turrialba volcano. Locals have noted an orange glow reflecting off of nighttime clouds for several weeks. The surfacing magma ensures that the peak and crater trails will remain closed but some are hoping to draw tourists to the surrounding area for lava viewing.

Rincón de la Vieja, Von Seebach, Santa Maria – OFF LIMITS 2014 – Starting sporadically in 2014 all three trails (north from Las Pailas, west from Santa Maria and south from Dos Rios) to all three craters were closed due to increased levels of activity in Rincón. Although 2016 and 2017 have been quiet the trails remain closed indefinitely.

Arenal – DORMANT 2011 – Arenal quit spewing lava in 2011 and although it still looks cool it’s a shadow of its former spectacular self.

UPDATE: November 4, 2017 – Four tourists were hospitalized (one with a serious compound fracture of the femur) when they were injured in an ash, lava rock and boulder slide while making an illegal attempt to summit Arenal. A team of rescuers took two days to evacuate the climbers.

Please do not be a moron. The zone around the crater is off-limits because of unstable slopes, poison gases and because it’s really expensive to rescue idiots who ignore the closure.

SJO Juan Santamaría International Airport – INTERMITTENT CLOSURES – Increased activity at Turrialba has shut down Costa Rica’s main airport a few times for a couple of hours to a couple of days. Poás is even closer but so far the ash fall has been carried away from the airport by prevailing winds.

Where to Visit Volcanoes in Costa Rica Now

Drive up Crater

Although the colossus dominates the eastern skyline and appears close enough to touch from downtown San José the paved road winds for an hour and a half past the famous cathedral and ruins in Cartago, bucolic hills, and finally elfin cloud forest before reaching Irazú’s summit.

Crater Lake Hikes

If you want to hike right up to a crater lake there are still a couple of trails open to Lago Barva (in Braulio Carrillo near San José) and Lago Danta (near Tenorio). It was frequently warm and sunny at Lago Chato where a refreshing swim in the crater lake was de rigueur after the long hot climb.

Both Barva and Danta are at significantly higher elevations than Cerro Chato, much colder and surrounded by cloud forests rarely penetrated by the sun so swimming is not popular.

Tenorio

Tenorio Volcano National Park has always been one of our favorites. Access to the top has always been limited and less than 1 in 5,000 visitors ever made the difficult climb preferring to hike to the amazing Celeste Waterfall and hot springs of the lower slopes instead.

Celeste Waterfall, Tenorio Volcano National Park

Poás

On the slopes of Poás volcano La Paz Waterfall Gardens, and the Doka and Britt Coffee plantations are still open and considered premier attractions from San José and the central valley. While entry into Poás National Park is cut off, a slight detour (and possibly some 4WD) to the east puts visitors on the trail head to the crater of Barva Volcano in Braulio Carrillo National Park.

Picking coffee

Rincón de la Vieja

The closure of the trails to the triple summits of Rincón, Seebach and Santa Maria will probably go unnoticed by the vast majority of visitors most of whom would never attempt the long, steep and extremely challenging climb if it were open.

Arenal

Although the spectacular night time displays stopped years ago, Arenal volcano still puts out enough heat to warm the hot springs and the region still attracts tourists with zip-lines, rafting and other adventure activities.